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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
On the evening of our arrival we were sitting in the Colonel's gun-room after dinner, Holmes stretched upon the sofa, while Hayter and I looked over his little armory1 of Eastern weapons.
“By the way,” said he suddenly, “I think I'll take one of these pistols upstairs with me in case we have an alarm.”
“An alarm!” said I.
“Yes, we've had a scare in this part lately. Old Acton, who is one of our county magnates, had his house broken into last Monday. No great damage done, but the fellows are still at large.”
“No clue?” asked Holmes, cocking his eye at the Colonel.
“None as yet. But the affair is a pretty one, one of our little country crimes, which must seem too small for your attention, Mr. Holmes, after this great international affair.”
Holmes waved away the compliment, though his smile showed that it had pleased him.
“Was there any feature of interest?”
“I fancy not. The thieves ransacked2 the library and got very little for their pains. The whole place was turned upside down, drawers burst open, and presses ransacked, with the result that an odd volume of Pope's Homer, two plated candlesticks, an ivory letter-weight, a small oak barometer3, and a ball of twine are all that have vanished.”
“What an extraordinary assortment4!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, the fellows evidently grabbed hold of everything they could get.”
Holmes grunted5 from the sofa.
“The county police ought to make something of that,” said he; “why, it is surely obvious that—”
But I held up a warning finger.
“You are here for a rest, my dear fellow. For Heaven's sake don't get started on a new problem when your nerves are all in shreds6.”
Holmes shrugged7 his shoulders with a glance of comic resignation towards the Colonel, and the talk drifted away into less dangerous channels.
It was destined8, however, that all my professional caution should be wasted, for next morning the problem obtruded9 itself upon us in such a way that it was impossible to ignore it, and our country visit took a turn which neither of us could have anticipated. We were at breakfast when the Colonel's butler rushed in with all his propriety10 shaken out of him.
“Have you heard the news, sir?” he gasped11. “At the Cunningham's sir!”
“Burglary!” cried the Colonel, with his coffee-cup in mid-air.
“Murder!”
在我们来到的那天傍晚，我们吃过晚餐，坐在上校的贮槍室里。福尔摩斯伸开四肢躺在沙发 上，海特和我正在看他那贮藏东方武器的小军械室。
“顺便说一下，”上校突然说道，“我想从这里拿一支手槍带上楼去，以防遇到警报。”
“警报？！”我说道。
“是的，最近我们这个地区出了事，使我们大受惊扰。老阿克顿是本地的一个富绅。上星期 一有人闯进他的住宅。他虽然没有遭到很大损失，可是那些家伙却依然逍遥法外。”
“没有一点线索吗？”福尔摩斯望着上校问道。
“现在还没有线索。不过这是小事一桩，是我们村子里的一件小小的犯罪案件，在你办过这 样巨大的国际案件之后，它一定不会引起你的注意吧，福尔摩斯先生。”
福尔摩斯摆手叫他不要称赞自己，可是却面露笑容，说明这些赞美之词使他很高兴。
“有什么重要的征候没有？”
“我想没有。那里盗贼在藏书室大搜了一通，尽避费了很大劲，却没得到什么东西。整个藏 书室翻了个底朝天，一抽一屉全敲打开了，书籍都被翻得乱七八糟。结果只有一卷蒲柏翻译 的荷马的诗，两只镀金烛台，一方象牙镇纸，一个橡木制的小晴雨计和一一团一线不见了。 ”
“真是五花八门，稀奇古怪！”我喊道。
“唉，这些家伙显然是顺手牵羊，碰到什么拿什么。”
福尔摩斯在沙发上哼了一声。
“地区警察应当从这里面发现一些线索，”福尔摩斯说道，“喂，显然是……”
可是我伸出手指警告他道：“你是到这里来休息的，我亲一爱一的朋友。在你的神经还十分 疲惫的情况下，请你务必不要着手搞新的案件。”
福尔摩斯耸了耸肩，无可奈何地向上校那里溜了一眼，我们便转到无关紧要的话题上去了。
然而，凡事自有天定，命里注定我作为医生提醒他注意的所有那些话都白费了。因为第二天 早晨，这个案件本身迫使我们进行了干预，使我们不能置之不理，我们的乡村之行发生了我 们两人都料想不到的变化。我们正进早餐时，上校的管家一点礼节也不顾地闯了进来。
“您听到消息了吗？先生，”他气喘吁吁地说道，“是在坎宁安家里！先生。”
“又是盗窃吧！”上校手中举着一杯咖啡，大声地说道。
“杀了人呢！”
收听单词发音 |
1
armory
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| n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库 | |
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2
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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3
barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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4
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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5
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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6
shreds
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| v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件） | |
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7
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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8
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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9
obtruded
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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11
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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